Colombia

If I had to do it over again, I would have started my travels in Columbia. I say this because first I would have had the travel enthusiasm AND funds to explore more of it than I did, and second because I would have learned proper Spanish, as opposed to “tico” Spanish;) I never really realized how large the country is until you get on a bus and literally drive through it!! The country sides are beautiful!! I wish I explored more of those regions! I don’t miss the roads at all though as they aren’t well kept and are quite exhausting to travel on! The country as a whole is cheap, especially compared to Costa Rica, though they are also very modern in their towns/cities. Though I did run into a few “scams” of sorts I never felt unsafe throughout the country. If anything the only thing that did make me nervous was the military itself as they would ride around on motorcycles, one driver, one passenger with what looked like an AK47 and his finger ON the trigger. Though I wasn’t terribly impressed by all of the large cities I went to, It’s definitely on my list of places to get back to and explore more of!!